Friday, January 9, 2009

The Burden of Being BSNYC

Bike Snob NYC is one of those rare blogs that combines wit with an acidic sense of propriety masquerading as humor. You can search the blogs on music, politics, cars or World of Warcraft and you aren’t likely to find a greater moral outrage over more minor infractions than on BSNYC. Not since The Washingtonienne has a blog utilized more pixels in its quest to skewer targets.

For every person I meet who likes BSNYC, I meet another who finds the blog harsh, mean-spirited and not reflective of the average cyclist’s views.

When I was in second grade I read a short story about a monk who was given a vision of heaven. Angels gave him this glimpse of the afterlife as a reward for his piety, but his return to daily life was hell itself. In his glimpse of life behind the pearly gates, he heard music. Music the angels make to serenade God himself. The sound was pure, without dissonance and a beauty so haunting that it lasted in the listener’s mind the way a taste of fine wine lingers on the tongue.

On the monk’s return to our waking life, music was ruined for him. Even the greatest symphonies were cruel taunts barely hinting at what beauty was truly possible. He hated music.

I think the same thing happened to BSNYC. I think he got a vision of cycling in heaven. How else can you explain such a finely honed sense of style.

Even the gentlest, most forgiving roadie knows there is a PRO way to do things and a NOT way to do things. You take your turn at the front. You don’t spit into the wind. You don’t show up with tube socks. You don’t turn your bike into a piece of art. You show respect for the riders around you. And sometimes you chuckle at the clueless.

One can be forgiven for imagining BSNYC hasn't shared the road with a knowledgeable rider since the advent of indexed shifting. He suffers hell here on earth. We decided to interview him to find out why.

BKW: You have a finely honed sense of roadie style. What riders exemplify your sense of proper style?

BSNYC: Hard to say. Proper style varies from race to race and from decade to decade. You know--Grand Tour style vs. classics style vs. crit style. It even varies from body type to body type. You just know it when you see it.

Helmets have pretty much killed style in road cycling anyway. Not that I have anything against helmets, mind you, but let's be honest. Cycling looked better before helmets.

BKW: A lot of being a good rider is basic consideration: not being a squirrel in the pack, blowing your nose down and not out, pointing out road debris. As crimes against cycling go, is there anything that offends you more than lack of consideration?

BSNYC: I think one of the biggest crimes in cycling is whining. I see this in people who yell "Close that gap!" or "Pull through!" all race long, or who get angry at others, or who make excuses and look for someone else to blame when they don't get a result. If you want a gap closed, close it yourself or keep quiet. Bragging is another unforgivable crime. Strong cyclists never need to brag. You brag with your legs. Road riding is about class, and class is the absence of whining and bragging.

BKW: Is there anything about your own riding or personal sense of style about which you are sensitive?

BSNYC: I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin. I have no illusions about my abilities, I love to ride and race, and I'm happy being pack-fill.

BKW: It seems one of your pet peeves is practicality, that is, anything a cyclist uses ought to make sense. How do you define practical?

BSNYC: What's practical obviously varies from discipline to discipline, but what drives me crazy in all cases is when vanity trumps common sense. On the road, a good example is the person doing a Sunday group ride on a $2,000 tubular wheelset. If you've got the cash you can afford training wheels. Practicality is using the right tool for the right job. Save the jewels for the ball--don't wear them to the bar.

BKW: The subtext of your posts, the way I read them, is that those cyclists you write about are missing an opportunity to enjoy all the sport has to offer. Do you despair that those cyclists will learn how it's done?

BSNYC: Well, of course I understand that some people enjoy different aspects of cycling than I do, so it would be wrong of me to say somebody else is missing the point. At the same time, though, I do think people who become hyper-focussed on certain elements of the sport do sometimes miss out. This goes for me too, by the way. As cyclists, we're a very anal species, and we need to be careful not to get too obsessive. We need to look out for each-other! That's part of the reason I often make jokes about getting hung up on your equipment, or on training, and why I try to make light of our tendency to take this whole thing too seriously. Because getting too obsessed with training or upgrading or being overly fastidious about your bike is a great way to waste time, energy, and money that could be better put towards enjoying yourself on your bike. We need to let go sometimes and remember to have fun.

BKW: Shouldn't it be enough that if a cyclist is having fun, then they must be doing it right?

Great interview. I read BSNYC and love it. I find it like reading The Onion. You read it, laugh your head off and then feel ashamed that you just laughed at it.

I sometimes have a tough time reading it just because I probably commit so many BSNYC "offenses"! You KNOW in the summer I gotz to wear my tube socks and "daisy dukes" when out on a rid! OK, I was kidding about the socks and "dukes".

Loved Snob's comment about bitching. I can't stand complaining on a ride or during a race. Man up. If you sucked, you sucked. I'm not gonna bust out "i was just using this as a training race," etc., etc.,

It's a great read as is BKW. Even for a road bike using mountain biker like myself.

Great interview. While I general agree with the comment about practicality, my attitude about equipment has changed a bit over the years. When I raced in the early nineties, I always felt like I should be better than my equipment (even if I had good bikes in my garage). It felt good to ride an old steel bike with worn out components and still be able to ride fast on club rides and win sprints. I often didn’t even take my newest bike to our local weekly time trial because I was cocky and thought it was better if I could win on a grease smeared beater with torn bar tape. I considered it to be an unspoken way of bragging to the older customers who spent a lot of money on bikes in the shop in which I worked. Cycling is about the engine, not the bike was definitely how I felt.

These days, cycling is something I do for myself. I am not even close to being the fastest guy in town, but my current fitness level doesn’t dictate my equipment choices. I have 9 bikes at this point because I enjoy each of them. Some are better than others, but there is something about each one that makes it worth keeping in my mind. If I could afford a 10,000 dollar road bike, I would probably use it for Sunday rides; not to show off, just because that is the only type of riding I do now. Maybe the 20 something year old version of me would have a problem with that, but the older version of me doesn’t really care. I say, ride what makes you happy, practical or not.

wow.when is the panel going to convene.a bobkestrut-bkw-bsnyc threeway would be a glimpse of internet bike insight heaven that might make be unable to ever able to ride happily again like the monk and his heavenly music.

then again I would probably ride all the more often as we all know that to ride is as much about the ecstasy as it is about the agony. this was a great pre-weekend/post ATOC/pre Paris-Nice reminder of all the rides and all the riders that have been in hiding all winter about to be unleased on the pavement in all their pro transgressions.

I'm sure that there are things that I am guilty of (riding too damn close seems to be the one that most people bitch about on rides) and work hard every day to be a more pro rider.

damn it, as one of those that thought BSNYC was mean spirited and doing harm to those that actually pay for stuff [insert, keep our bike companies and shops going], i have to grudgingly admit i feel a bit of simpatico with him.

and yes, fill your own gaps [although it is smart racing to get someone to do it for you, LOL].

great job BKW and BSNYC.

p.s. are there any mountains in that version of cycling heaven? i vote for soCal with no cars.

BKW, I have never thanked you for your article on 'How to Wash Your Bicycle." Thank you.

As an american cyclist for some 30+ years it was the most useful information since some guy showed me how to change an inner tube. Which has proven more useful than the guy that taught me how to glue tires.

BKW - you got it wrong on 2 points:1) "and you aren’t likely to find a greater moral outrage over more minor infractions than on BSNYC." The infractions BSNY draws attention to aren't minor - they're usually quite egregious.2) "Don't show up in tube socks". Wrong - any ride where tubes socks are shunned is a ride I don't wanna join.

I thought this was a great interview, but don't agree with the equipment comment. You know, you want to show up at the Sunday am coffee ride with Lightweights, go for it. Its your 4 grand if the tool riding the fixie mid-pack goes OTB and takes you and your gucci wheels out. No skin off my back unless you take me down as well. I'm always a little suspicious of the 'gear police.' What do you care if i take my pull, exhibit good pack habits, bike control and am generally a good ride?

Believe it or not, this was the post that started it all for me. When I linked to it from BSNYC last year, it was the first BKW post I'd ever read. I've been a loyal reader ever since, and my life, on and off the bike, has been all the better for it.

I'd forgotten how good this interview was, and what an interesting mind lies behind BSNYC's unflagging caustic wit. Keep the good stuff comin', guys!

BKW Favorites

Belgium Knee Warmers Defined

For many professional cyclists the Spring campaign is the toughest of the season; it means training from October until March in the worst, character-building weather conditions Europe can dish out. This weather and the suffering that is bicycle racing breed characters known as "hardmen".

Select cyclists tackle these conditions in shorts, long sleeve jerseys or short sleeve jerseys with arm warmers, wind vests, and shoe covers. A true hardman opts to forego the knee or leg warmers and instead chooses an embrocation to cover the knees. The liniment provides warmth for the legs and keeps the blood circulating and muscles supple. Embrocation and the sheen created is affectionately known as "Belgium knee warmers". The hardest of cyclists will sport bare legs in the most ruthless of conditions.

Belgium Knee Warmers are indicitive of the many subtleties that make professional cycling so enthralling.

Dispatches

Profile

I spent 20 years of my life working in the bicycle industry, turning wrenches and selling bikes for some of the industry's best shops. I have extensive experience designing and constructing frames in both steel and titanium and have performed thousands of bike fits. I am passionate about bicycles in all forms. The bicycle provides me with physical and mental health and taps me into a social pipeline that allows me to share my passion with others. I ride as often as possible and love the flow of a hard group ride. Check back for musings about all things road cycling and, especially, the Spring Classics. The devil is in the details and I am an expert in the useless minutia that makes up our discipline.